Many of you may remember the Vision 2020 Task Force and the tremendous work that took place over the course of 18+ months to develop Mission, Vision, and Value statements for the church. This work was incredibly valuable in helping Highland come together around our core identity as a faith community. The next step of the process was to have been the development of a strategic plan that would guide us in determining ministry priorities to live out our mission over the next 3-5 years. However, due to the pandemic, staff retirements and resignations, and interim periods, this step was never undertaken. Since January of 2024, the Ministry Council has focused on a review of the materials from Vision 2020 and moving towards the development of a strategic plan.
During the discussions within Ministry Council, we learned of the potential for once again partnering with the Center for Congregational Health to come alongside us in this work. The Center has received a grant from the Lilly Endowment to work with congregations post-COVID who are seeking to develop a strategic mission and ministry plan to carry the church into the future. This grant enables the Center to cut the cost by $10,000, leaving HBC with a $5,000 obligation. The Mission and Justice Ministry group has approved using undesignated funds in their budget to cover this remaining cost to help us move forward with engaging these services as they will significantly affect how we live out our commitments to mission and justice in the days ahead.
Beginning in the fall, the Center for Congregational Health will begin working with our lay leadership and our entire congregation, including two in-person visits to Louisville, to explore how our current ministries align with our mission, vision, and values as well as developing goals and plans for determining priorities for mission and ministry over the next 3-5 years. You may remember that Mary Alice has preached about the necessity of this congregational work in sermons earlier this year about learning when to say “yes” and when to say “no.” In the days ahead, we will be asking ourselves, where do we sense God is calling us to invest our time and energies in the coming years? How do we plan to get there? Out of all the things we could do, what are the best ways for us to live out our YES to God? As we look at all the areas of passion and interest at Highland, as we look at our budget, and as we look at our capacity, we may need to say “no” to some things – even some really good and worthwhile things - in order to say YES to what we as the congregation discern are the most important things God is calling us toward. We look forward to sharing more information about this process as it unfolds in the days ahead.
Mary Alice Birdwhistell, Pastor
Lauren Blackwell, Ministry Council Chair and Interim Ministry Coordinator